Year of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Arts (MA)
Degree Name
Anthropology
Department or School/College
Anthropology
Committee Chair
Dr. Gregory Campbell
Commitee Members
Dr. Meradeth Snow, Dr. Wade Davies
Subject Categories
Indigenous Studies | Legal Studies | Legal Theory | Native American Studies | Social and Cultural Anthropology | United States History
Abstract
Section 11 of the National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAIA) was added to public law in 1989. This required the Smithsonian Museum to repatriate any human remains or funerary objects associated with Native American Ancestry back to their tribes. In 1990, The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was added to federal legislation expanding on this section and requiring that every federally funded institution in the United States that held Native American Remains or funerary objects in their collection must follow this regulation to continue to receive federal funding. Nearly 33 years later in the autumn of 2023 Congress opened a section for comments regarding revising the 1990 legislation, and by January of 2024 revisions were published. Despite past legal technicalities, confusion, and discrepancies regarding the repatriation process, it is yet to be seen if the revision to NAGPRA will be beneficial in helping institutions carry out repatriations or if it will cause disruptions as institutions navigate new processes. This thesis will highlight the new changes, their rationales, and potential impacts of the revisions made to NAGPRA in 2024.
Recommended Citation
Owens-Barber, Emily V., "AN OVERVIEW OF NAGPRA AND THE 2024 REVISIONS" (2025). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12435.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12435
Included in
Indigenous Studies Commons, Legal Theory Commons, Native American Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, United States History Commons
© Copyright 2025 Emily V. Owens-Barber
